- HEALTH LEGISLATION: The legislation
setting up district health boards is in the balance.
Labour’s coalition partner Alliance and NZ First are both
discussing their stance in caucus meetings underway now. The
Greens and National are working closely to force changes to
the legislation. It could come to rest on NZ First, who say
they will have a position by this afternoon. Helen Clark
remains confident the legislation will pass. But the
Government may have to wear some amendments to pass the
legislation.

- US ELECTION: Republican George W. Bush has
set up a transition team headed by running mate Dick Cheney,
but they have been denied public money and access to the
transition offices until there is a clear winner. Al Gore is
preparing to make his case on TV to justify his challenge of
the Florida result.

- BABY INVESTIGATION: Auckland
detectives are investigating the death of an 11-month-old
boy. Police were alerted to the child’s critical injuries by
hospital staff. Post Mortem are hoped to reveal whether the
death as accidental or not.

- WAITANGI DAY: The Navy won’t
take part in official commemorations in Waitangi on Waitangi
Day next year following a Government directive that there be
no Crown presence in Waitangi.

- PARALYMPICS SCANDAL: The
head of the New Zealand paralympics team says if allegations
against the Spanish paralympics team that athletes of normal
intelligence competed as intellectually disabled people are
true, then it makes a farce of the whole event.

- AIR
AMBULANCES: Tranz Rail won’t be renewing its sponsorship of
five of the county’s air ambulances when existing contracts
lapse in 2003.

- BLACKLISTED PLAYERS: The Fiji rugby
sevens team may have blacklisted members in its side. The
claim comes from an Auckland based campaigner from the
Coalition for Democracy in Fiji. 156 Fijians are blacklisted
by the New Zealand Government for their involvement in the
May coup.

- MIDDLE EAST CONFLICT: The Palestinian
Authority has rejected a proposal from Israeli Prime
Minister Ehud Barac, which suggests a gradual agreement for
a peace deal.

- CARLOS NAMANA: A Law Commissioner says the
decision by the appeal court to cut the minimum non-parole
period for Carlos Namana, who killed Mangakino constable
Murray Stretch, from 18 years to 16 years doesn’t
necessarily mean Mr Namana will be freed after that
time.

- FLOODED CARS: The Road Transport Safety Authority
says its rigorous checks on flood damaged cars being
imported from Nagoya, Japan will prevent unsafe vehicles
from being able to drive on New Zealand roads.

- BLOODY
SUNDAY: The inquiry into Bloody Sunday in Northern Ireland
has been told British paratroopers fired into what the
believed were armed targets, but killed unarmed
civilians.

- TERRORIST THREAT: British Police treating
seriously the threat of a pre-Christmas terrorist from an
IRA breakaway group after the seizure of arms and
explosives.

- STOWAWAYS: Three stowaways who jumped ship
in the port of Whangarei are to be interviewed by the
immigration service
today.

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Morrison is a masterfully ignorant practitioner who finds himself in the arms of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yet still keen to press the idea that international law is being observed. More>>